This is a great list of some of the issues surrounding the ally industrial complex and claiming ally as an identity. Ally is a VERB. You must be allying, in action, and in ways that are called for my the community you are seeking to ‘help’.

I feel that this piece by Melissa McEwan does a great job of articulating what I’ve been feeling in this regard for sometime. Often using ‘ally’ as part of one’s identity clouds your own ability to actually leverage your privilege productively and creates passivity in your work. The process model allows for a lot more accountability and real change.

“There are two ways that people with privilege tend to view ally work.

In the Fixed State Ally Model, the privileged person views hirself as an ally and claims the mantle for hirself. Zie may also acknowledge that zie is always learning and trying to do better, but states that zie is an ally to one or more marginalized populations.

In the Process Model, the privileged person views hirself as someone engaged in ally work, but does not identify as an ally, rather viewing ally work as an ongoing process. Zie views being an ally as a fluid state, externally defined by individual members of the one or more marginalized populations on behalf zie leverages hir privilege.

For various reasons, embracing the Fixed State Ally Model is actually antithetical to effective ally work.”

A mother from Washingtonville PA has been charged and sentenced to up to 18 months in jail for ordering medication online that would allow her daughter to receive an abortion.

““Her situation is very scary legally, because we are seeing the number of clinics dwindle,” Nash said. “If women don’t have access to abortion clinics, some will turn to the Internet, and then, will they be charged with a crime?””

ACCESS IS SO IMPORTANT! Information is so important! Support is essential!!

“Being able to recognize your privilege is the first step in fighting against oppression.
If you experience Western privilege, I strongly encourage you to push back against it. Educate yourself. Educate others. Listen to the oppressed. Think critically about the preconceived notions you have about other countries, and whether those ideas are oppressive.”

“The problem is that white people see racism as conscious hate, when racism is bigger than that. Racism is a complex system of social and political levers and pulleys set up generations ago to continue working on the behalf of whites at other people’s expense, whether whites know/like it or not. Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.” Scott Woods